Dr. Chantal Guillemette holds a Canada Research Chair in pharmacogenomics. She is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Laval University and co-director of the Cancer Research Center (CRC) at Laval University.
Dr. Guillemette is one of the leaders in the field of the pharmacogenomics of phase II enzymes, with a focus on glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes (UGTs). Her international leadership comes from ground breaking discoveries in precision oncology that positioned her lab at the forefront of the global research on the most important pathway for the human body’s elimination of frequently prescribed drugs, also regulating hormonal drivers of cancer. Dr. Guillemette, along with her coworkers and external collaborators, have significantly advanced several areas of drug metabolism and cancer biomarkers. She has published over 130 papers, the majority as a senior author and her students as first authors. She also offers a productive, creative and dynamic training environment (>125 high qualified personnel) supported by a strong record of trainees (>60) and future scientists while educating undergrads and health professionals in pharmacology and personalized medicine. Her work has improved our understanding of the mechanisms contributing to variations in biotransformation by UGTs, and how this affects drug response and disease. This led to knowledge translation strategies for the clinical use of genetic information on drug metabolism by UGTs. Her work has also extended to the discovery of cancer predisposing genes and more recently, to the discovery of new prognostic markers uncovered for hormone-related cancers such as prostate cancer.
Her focus is now on two objectives well integrated with clinical unmet needs in high-incidence cancers (leukemia, prostate and lung) to address the mechanisms underlying variability in anticancer drugs and steroid metabolism and how this affects patients’ responses, disease progression and patients’ survival. A first objective comprehensively investigates the molecular mechanisms that underlie variability in anticancer drugs and steroid metabolism by UGTs using complementary models that integrate research on genomics, splicing and post-translational processes using cutting-edge technologies. These findings will greatly contribute to achieve the required mechanism-based evidence to propel progress in the field and their potential clinical applications, with an impact on a larger set of prescribed drugs and broad clinical settings. A second objective aims to establish, through translational studies of patients diagnosed with high-incidence cancers, the clinical implications of variability in steroid and anticancer drug metabolism pathways. Genetic, hormonal and pharmacological markers will be tested as part of predictive tools that can identify individuals more likely to suffer adverse reactions to novel anticancer substrates of UGTs and those who are more likely to respond to therapy. We also address how variability in steroid and drug metabolism pathways can help improve prognostic signatures for recurrence and cancer patient’s survival after initial treatment. This research is reinforced by a strong and efficiently balanced collaborative network of scientists supported by the active roles of clinicians. This research has the potential to improve personalization of oncology treatment and prognostication for frequent cancers.
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4701.5
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2
- Awad, YasminEmployeeCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296yasmin.awad.1@ulaval.cayasmin.awad@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Beaudoin, CarolineMaster studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296caroline.beaudoin.13@ulaval.cacaroline.beaudoin@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Caron, PatrickEmployeeCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 48691patrick.caron@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
T4-09
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2 - Dahmani, CyliaDoctoral studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296cylia.dahmani@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Descarreaux, JosephEmployeeCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296joseph.descarreaux@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Ladouceur, ShannaMaster studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296shanna.ladouceur@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Lapointe-Belleau, ArianeDoctoral studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296ariane.lapointe-belleau@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Pulichino, Anne-MarieEmployeeL'Hôtel-Dieu de Québec+1 418-525-4444, extension 15061+1 418-691-5439Anne-Marie.Pulichino@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
9, rue McMahon
2765
Québec, Québec
Canada G1R 2J6 - Rivera Herrera, Ana LuciaDoctoral studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296ana-lucia.rivera-herrera@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Rouleau, MichèleEmployeeCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296 / 46462+1 418-654-2159michele.rouleau@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4701.11
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2 - Uchil, AshwiniDoctoral studentCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296ashwini.uchil@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, QC
Canada G1V 4G2 - Villeneuve, LyneEmployeeCHUL+1 418-525-4444, extension 42296 / 46407lyne.villeneuve@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca
2705, boulevard Laurier
R-4720
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2
Pharmacokinetics of mycophenolate mofetil and its glucuronide metabolites in healthy volunteers
Journal ArticlePharmacogenomics, 9 (7), 2008.
Influence of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase polymorphisms on mycophenolate mofetil-induced side effects in kidney transplant patients
Journal ArticleTransplant Proc, 40 (3), 2008.
UGT1A1 and UGT1A9 functional variants, meat intake, and colon cancer, among Caucasians and African-Americans
Journal ArticleMutat Res, 644 (1-2), 2008.
Genetic diversity at the UGT1 locus is amplified by a novel 3' alternative splicing mechanism leading to nine additional UGT1A proteins that act as regulators of glucuronidation activity
Journal ArticlePharmacogenet Genomics, 17 (12), 2007.
A pharmacogenomics study of the human estrogen glucuronosyltransferase UGT1A3
Journal ArticlePharmacogenet Genomics, 17 (7), 2007.
Sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantitative analysis of mycophenolic acid and its glucuronide metabolites in human plasma and urine
Journal ArticleJ Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci, 858 (1-2), 2007.
Regulation of the UGT1A1 bilirubin-conjugating pathway: role of a new splicing event at the UGT1A locus
Journal ArticleHepatology, 45 (1), 2007.
The impact of UGT1A8, UGT1A9, and UGT2B7 genetic polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetic profile of mycophenolic acid after a single oral dose in healthy volunteers
Journal ArticleClin Pharmacol Ther, 81 (3), 2007.
Irinotecan inactivation is modulated by epigenetic silencing of UGT1A1 in colon cancer
Journal ArticleClin Cancer Res, 12 (6), 2006.
Characterization of common UGT1A8, UGT1A9, and UGT2B7 variants with different capacities to inactivate mutagenic 4-hydroxylated metabolites of estradiol and estrone
Journal ArticleCancer Res, 66 (1), 2006.
En tant que titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en pharmacogénomique, Chantal Guillemette poursuit trois principaux objectifs à long terme. Tout d’abord, elle tente de déterminer les marqueurs génétiques qui permettent de maximiser la réponse aux médicaments tout en limitant les effets secondaires associés à certaines pharmacothérapies du cancer. Elle analyse ensuite les caractéristiques des tumeurs, ce qui lui permet de définir les processus moléculaires liés à la réponse ou à la résistance au traitement.
En second lieu, la chercheure entend identifier des biomarqueurs génétiques ou biochimiques qui permettraient de déceler rapidement le cancer et les patients qui sont les plus susceptibles d’en être atteints. Enfin, l’objectif de Mme Guillemette vise à favoriser une meilleure compréhension des fonctions et des effets des variations génomiques, ce qui pourrait permettre d’intégrer la pharmacogénomique dans les études cliniques et permettre un transfert de connaissances plus rapide en clinique afin de maximiser et de personnaliser la pharmacothérapie.
Active projects
- Association of sex steroid hormones and gallbladder cancer in women, from 2024-06-01 to 2025-09-30
- Association of Sex Steroid Hormones and Gallbladder Cancer in Women, from 2023-09-29 to 2025-03-28
- Chaire de recherche du Canada en pharmacogénomique, from 2020-10-01 to 2027-09-30
- Effect of environmental contaminants and methylome of breast adipose tissue on aromatase inhibitor efficacy in breast cancer, from 2016-07-01 to 2025-03-31
- Functional pharmacogenomics of cancer : from mechanisms to personalized therapy, from 2019-07-01 to 2026-06-30
- Investigate novel markers of kidney injury in children requiring a cardiac surgery, from 2023-12-20 to 2024-12-19
- Projet portant sur les hormones stéroïdiennes et le cancer de la prostate, from 2023-09-01 to 2027-08-31
- Targeting sex steroids to improve the response to bladder cancer immunotherapy, from 2021-10-01 to 2026-09-30
Recently finished projects
- Deep phenotyping of UGT human knockouts, from 2023-03-01 to 2024-02-29
- Understanding the variations in clinical presentations of endometriosis: a pan-Canadian cohort study, from 2023-03-01 to 2024-02-29
- Une infrastructure IA multi-usagers clé en main pour gérer le cycle de vie complet des données en santé, from 2021-04-01 to 2024-06-30